The UAE residents going to Saudi Arabia for Hajj, Umrah or any other visit are expected to undergo biometrics tests very soon, an official said on Monday.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has designated Dubai-based VFS TasHeel International to launch biometrics pilot project for visa purposes in the UAE and other countries.
All expatriate residents in the UAE travelling to Saudi Arabia, for Haj and Umrah or otherwise, will soon have to give their biometrics for entry into the Kingdom.
All such applicants planning a visit to Saudi will have to provide their biometrics at VFS TasHeel, which manages and administers the Saudi Arabian visa applications, senior officials of the firm said on Monday.
Read more: Saudi-bound expats need to provide biometrics for entry into Saudi Arabia
The Saudi eGovernment system can be wonderful. Many procedures which used to take weeks of standing and waiting in government offices, can now be carried out online. Unfortunately, the integration of the Saudi eGovernment system is not yet ideal as witnessed by the need to wait for a day or seven or forever for the system in one ministry to turn over or update, in order to move forward with a procedure at another government organization. And weirdly, when the correct data in one system for a person is shared and added to another system, sometimes the data in the second system is incorrect for the same person with the same national identity number. This shows that government organizations are still relying on their own databases, rather than building one cohesive database for use across all government agencies.
TLC is a video service that will allow parents to interact with their babies using iPads, computers and videoconferencing system called Vidyo. The iPads also have speakers that give parents the opportunity to speak to their baby or their health care provider.
The World Summit Award (WSA) is a global follow-up initiative of the United Nations Summit on Information Society. It partners with the key UN organizations and agencies in the framework of the UN Geneva Agenda and the Tunis Action Plan and selects and promotes the world's best e-Content and innovative ICT applications.